abide

chapter 17

a sickening taste of blood in his mouth, second by second soaring to his throat, making him choke. there comes another blow, then another this time stroke from the left hand not right.

yoshinori even in such a situation finds himself thinking why is jihoon doing this all this way not the other. he has no rings on his fingers and the boy could clearly remember that there wasn't a day he would see him without his three pet silver rings, one among them quite massive, shaped like a tiger's face with two canines protruding from its mouth. then another thing - why would he use his left hand more often to attack than the right hand when it was crystal clear that his strength could be best released with the power of the right muscles. and here in innately naive boy's heart grows consoling, juvenile hope. jihoon still cared for him, regardless of what he was framed into.

when blood splutters on yoshinori's face, his nose bleeding profusely, the boy whose chances to survive have come to a bare minimum, exerts himself and pushes the other body ever so lightly that he becomes stumped after seeing that it actually made jihoon fall backward.

they start sizing each other up, jihoon is breathing heavily, his palms tremble, yoshinori's blood drops from the tips of his fingers and from under his nails, meanwhile, the latter coughs violently, spitting blood all over him. he wants to ask why what for, but can't speak up because of the rubin liquid which goes out of his mouth instead of words.

"where... where is he..."

jihoon's voice is sore, everything inside him feels numb. seeing yoshinori in such a state would hurt immensely if he was still an owner of a living heart. his heart was ripped out of his chest the moment he released his anger and exasperation with the first strike. yet there was something in him, maybe a once experienced attachment towards the other which made him unable to finish this once and for all.

"only you knew! where is he?!"

yoshinori remained quiet, jihoon second by second felt more desperate. the blood dripping from his fingers burned his skin. it was still warm, the blood not long ago peacefully, methodically circulating in yoshinori's veins, strengthening the heart's condition. jihoon broke down in tears, yet he never stopped shouting.

"speak up you bastard or I will find him myself!"

he crawled pitifully closer to the other, intending to twitch his collar and hit him again, but he hadn't any more will to use his hands as torture. his body allowed him to grip the clothing only, drawing yoshinori's face closer. this gave the younger a scope to speak, exerting all of his muscles, and yet the voice came out quieter than the sound of a butterfly's wings fluttering.

"he isn't here..."

a drop of blood dripped on jihoon's shirt. the moment tears huddled in his eyes again, someone's frightened voice came to his ears. behind yoshinori where the main entrance was, a member of the other's so-called family appeared.

jihoon knew the fragile, delicate boy was a no match to him, his opponent was well aware of this too, yet after comprehending what has been happening, his small hands formed into two fists. the leader let go of yoshinori's collar, pulling the body away. yoshinori stumbled backward, his back encountering someone else.

as yedam ran towards the offender, with his sleeves tucked and barely exercised muscles ready to fight for his leader's life, jihoon wanted to spare him such disgrace. he would trample him like a mere ant.

"don't get any closer prince or you won't be so pretty anymore." jihoon warned, strictly pointing at him. "better take care of your dear boss, friend, lover, boyfriend, or whatever you all are!"

everything jihoon said helped yedam come to his senses. no matter how proud he was, he would be defeated in no time - so he surrendered. not being able to hold yoshinori in his arms anymore, both of them lowered to the ground, the leader sitting, one of his members crouching down next to him, muttering something relentlessly, agitated.

still, jihoon didn't get what he had come for. with no hesitation, the boy invaded the den of the other gang. as there was no welcoming committee to fight against, he directed his steps towards the first door on the right.

the room was empty.

the next one as well, another too, the next one was the same, all of them furnished but no living soul inside. the mayhem he had caused must have been eventually noticed by the other residents.

the moment his hand landed on the doors on the left side, someone else's palm ceased his motion. jihoon looked up, taking only a glance into jaehyuk's dark eyes before his hand was crushed in between the other's grip.

he whimpered, his yelping remaining even after the former arms dealer let go of the scourging hold. jaehyuk stood by the door, shielding it with his body. his eyes never getting off of the man whose skills and sculpture could be compared to his.

"back off. I am kindly warning you."

was a harsh command, which at the same was jihoon's "get inside". they hid something precious in this room, that's why jaehyuk protected it with such earnestness. blood in jihoon's veins started circulating faster in the indignation, bracing his body to attack. the boy's strike was stopped by the other and the duel of two determined men to protect what they sincerely loved began.

what jihoon didn't know was that in the room, there wasn't his brother. inside these four walls was a vulnerable boy whose soul was once betrayed by the bad people. the boy who was now afraid of strangers, afraid of louder noises, afraid when left alone, and afraid when around too many people at once.

jihoon thought he fought to rescue his brother. jaehyuk fought to save his dear dongsaeng whom he couldn't save the last time he tried. 

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